RUSSIANS FEAR TENSIONS WITH USA OVER SYRIA CIVIL WAR MAY LEAD TO WORLD WAR 3: Nearly half of Russians fear that Moscow's bombing campaign in Syria could spark World War III, a poll showed on 31 Oct. 2016. Moscow, an ally of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, has been staging bombing raids in Syria since Sep. 2015. That figure was up from 29% in July of this year. Moscow's air strikes have negatively affected the way Russia is perceived internationally, 32% said, up from 16% in November 2015. Nevertheless, 52% of Russians said they back Moscow's air strikes, while 26% said they opposed them. Western powers and rights groups have accused Syrian and Russian forces of carrying out indiscriminate attacks on civilian infrastructure in the country, particularly around the former economic powerhouse Aleppo, parts of which have been reduced to rubble. (Arutz-7)